Coaling stations for toy railroads



July 16, 1957 J. L. BONANNQ 9 2,799,119

COALING STATIONS FOR TOY RAIL-ROADS I Filed Nov. 22, 1954 4 She'ts-Sheet'1 LAP INVENTOR do SEPH .L. Bo/vmwvo ATTORNEY July 16, 1957 J. L.BONANN'b 2 7 COALING STATIONS FOR TOY RAILROADS Filed Nov. 22, 1954 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR do 55/ A. Ban'mmvo w a? ATTORNEY y 1957 J. L.BONANNO 2,799,119

COALING STATIONS FOR TOY RAILROADS Filed NOV. 22, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3O 67 6'0 ATTORNEY July 16, 1957 J. L. BONANNO 2,

COALING STATIONS FOR TOY RAILROADS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed NOV. 22, 195469 A T A 67 5 5 Z INVENT'OR .98 Z (/0 SEP/l A. Bo/vmwvo BY w 66 Mar?ATTORNEY United States Patent COALlNG STATIONS FOR TOY RAILROADS JosephL. Bonanno, South Orange, N. J., assignor to The Lionel Corporation, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 22, 1954,Serial No. 479,246

8 Claims. (Cl. 46-40) The present invention relates to coaling stationsfor toy railroads.

The present invention contemplates a trackside accessory for use withtoy electric railroads by means of like) from the car into .a receivingbin. It also has means to lift this dumped material to a higherelevation and dump it into a hopper where it can be retained. The hopperis associated with a remote controlled chute by which the contents ofthe hopper may be dumped into the same or another car, and means arealso provided for lowering the bin to the first position for againreceiving material dumped from a car on the track. All these operationsare preferably carried out by a remote controller permanently Wired tothe trackside structure.

Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

The accompanying drawings show, for purposes of illustrating the presentinvention, one embodiment in which the invention may take form, it beingunderstood that the drawings are illustrative of the invention ratherthan limiting the same.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the coaling station showing onesection of track in place;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the coaling station with thehopper down in the full line position and partly raised in dot and dashlines, the tracks being omitted;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the coaling station, the roof beingremoved, except for a small fragment, the trackage being omitted;

Figure 4 is a vertical section on the line 44 of Figure 3, showing thetrackage and car in place;

Figure 5 is a rear elevational view of the coaling station taken in thedirection of the arrow 5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 66 of Figure2, showing the trackage in place with parts broken away;

Figures 7 and 8 are fragmentary vertical sectional views on an enlargedscale on the lines 77, 8-8 of Figure 6;

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view at an enlarged scale on the line9--9 of Figure 3;

Figure 10 is an enlarged sectional view on the broken line 10-10 ofFigure 3;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary sectional view'on the line 11- 11 of Figure9; and

Figure 12 is a wiring diagram.

Patented July 16, 1957 ICC The coaling station shown herein is designedmore particularly for use with the usual 3-rail toy railroad track madeup in sections and to be so mounted in the track layout that it spansthe trackage and allows the toy train to pass through the coalingstation.

Referring first to the wiring diagram of Figure 12 it will be seen thatthe trackage has two track rails 20, 20, and power rail 21 supplied bycurrent from the low voltage transformer T. In this figure of thedrawing a toy railroad car is indicated with trucks 22, 22, two contactshoes 23, 24 and operating coil 25 connecting the two contact shoes.When the car is in position on the coaling station the shoe 23 contactsa grounded rail 26 and the shoe 24 contacts an insulated rail 27. Thedetails of construction for these will be described later.

The circuit elements are in a remote controller RC (Fig. 12) and thoseon the coaling station proper are indicated in the box CS. First tracingthe controller circuit it will be seen that it has a power connectionindicated at'28 to a pair of switches 29, 30. These switches are biasedto an open circuit position. The switch 29 is cooperable with contact 31for unloading the car and placing the load in the receiving bin, thiscircuit being traced through wire 32 to a terminal 33 on the coalingstation proper, wire 34 to the insulated contact and the car circuit 24,25, 23 to ground 26. The other contact 35 with which the switch contact29 may be engaged to dump the upper hopper of the coaling station isconnected by wire 36 to a terminal 37 on the coaling station and to achute release coil 38, which is grounded as indicated. The othercontroller contact 30 is engageable I with the up contact 39 on thecontroller and through wire 40, terminal 41 in the controller and wire42 energizes one field coil 43 of the motor M. The other control contact44, through wire 45, terminal 46 and wire 47, is adapted to energize theother field coil 48 of the motor M. It will thus be apparent that bymanipulating the controller switch 29, one can either energize the coil25 on the car to unload the car or the coil 38 on the coaling station todump the contents of the coal pocket. Also that by shifting thecontroller switch 30 one way or the other, the motor M can be operatedin the direction to lift the receiving bin or lower it.

The coaling station has a sheet metal base 50 which receives twosections of toy railroad track, indicated at 51 and 52, each sectionhaving the track rails 20, 20 and the power rail 21. These tracksections are secured in place between upstruck flanges 53, 54, for theright track section and 55, 56 for the left track section. Each of theseflanges has two notches 53', 53", etc., which serve to engage theflanges of the rails 20, 20. The two sets of notches are provided toengage the flanges of two different types of toy railroad track withwhich the coaling station is adapted to be used. In the drawings thetracks are shown as being received under the upper set of notches. Theother type track, not shown, is adapted to have its rail flangesreceived under the lower set of notches.

As shown more clearly in Figures 6 and 7, the base 50 carries a springconductor 57 enclosed in insulation 58 and connected with the wire 34.This spring contact extends up through an opening 59 in an insulatingmember 60 and bears against the conducting blade 27 which extends upbetween the power rail 21 and the left track rail, as shown in Figure 7.Near the left end of the base 50 is an upstruck flange 61 between thepower rail 21 and the right track rail 20, and this flange carries aremovable blade 26. When the car is on the coaling station with itscollectors 23 and 24 contacting the blades 26 and 27, the coil 25 in thecar 62 may be energized as above described. This car is of the sidedumping type,

as illustrated in Figure 4 and is adapted to dump the contents to theright, as shown.

The base 50 also carries two upwardly extending front columns 65, 65'andrear columns'66, 66.' These are secured in place by rivets indicated at65', 66'. The upper ends of the columns 65 and 66 are secured by screws65 and 66" to a wall plate 67 having end portions 68, 68 and rearportion 69. The back portion 69 of the wall plate, by means of a bracket70 supports a combined motor and reduction gear unit indicated at 71.This unit carries the field and armature of the motor and suitablereduction gears 72 for driving a low speed shaft 73. This shaft carriestwo spools 74, 75 actuated through a friction drive including springs76, 77. These spools receive cords 78, 79 which pass about pulleys 3t 81carried on a shaft 82 mounted in the upper ends of the columns 65, 65.The cords 78, 79 extend downwardly and are connected to a receiving bin83. This bin is a plastic molding extending between the front columns65, 65 and having lugs 83a in front of the columns and lugs 83b, 83cbehind the columns. The upper front end of the motor unit 71 carries twoterminal mounting strips 84a, 84b to which are secured terminals 37, 46,41 and 33, above referred to.

The end members 68, 68 of wall plate are connected by a cross bar 85near the lower front portions thereof. This cross bar, together with thelower, forwardly extending flange 69' of the back wall plate, supports ahopper 86 in the form of a plastic molding. This hopper, as shown, hastwo pockets and two bottom openings 87, 87. The hopper 86 carriesbetween the two pockets a bracket 88, the lower rear end of whichcarries a shaft 8% on which is pivoted a chute 99. The bracket 83 alsocarries the chute actuating coil 38 above referred to. The armature 91in this coil is biased to the left by a spring 392 (see Fig. and has adownwardly extending hook 93 entering into a slot 94 in the chutemolding 0. A spring 92 acting onthe armature also holds the chute 90 inthe upper or full line position shown in Figures 1, 2, 4, 9 and 10.

When the controller is shifted to the dumping position where contact 2%engages contact 35, the coil 38 is energized and the armature pulledforward so that the chute is lowered by gravity to the dot and dashposition and the contents of the hopper 86 delivered to the car. Totransfer the contents of a loaded car from the car to the storagereceiving bin, the controller contact 29 is shifted to contact 31 which,through the circuit including the car coil 25, operates to dump thecontents of the car into the bin, which is assumed to be in thelowermost position. As soon as the operator releases the movable contact29, the circuit for the car carried coil is deenergized and the car bodyreturns to normal position. To deliver the contents of the loaded bin tothe hopper, the controller is shifted to the up position connectingcontact 39 through field coil 43 of the motor to operate the motor inthe proper direction to wind the cords onto the spools. As the cords arewound onto the spools 74 and 75, the bin 83 is carried up along thefront columns 65, as indicated in a succession of dot and dash anddotted line positions of Figure 9. As the lugs 83a, 83b and 830 arecarried along the upper rearwardly bent ends 95 of the columns 65, thereceiving bin 83 is caused to tilt as indicated, so that its contentsare delivered to the hopper 86. Overrun of the motor does no damage, asthe slippage of the friction drive for the pulleys '74, 75 permits themotor to continue running after the bin has been stopped. Properalignment of the bin at the time of dumping is assured by the engagementof the bin with the transverse shaft 82.

After the receiving bin has been dumped it is lowered by shifting thecontroller switch contact 39 to the down" position, so the motor Moperates in the reverse direction. As tension is taken off the cords 78,79, the receiving bin passes down along the columns 65, 65.

To provide a finished appearance to the device and cover and protect thewiring, the device is provided with a roof member 96 in the form of aplastic molding held in place by lugs 97 which snap into openings 98 inthe peaked portions of the wall plate ends 68.

The connecting wires 40, 32, 36 and 45 of the wiring diagram arecollected in the form of a cable designated generally at 99, which leadsto the controller structure at a suitable remote point.

Since it is obvious that the invention may be embodied in other formsand constructions within the scope of the claims, I wish it to beunderstood that the particular form shown is but one of these forms, andvarious modifications and changes being possible, I do not otherwiselimit myself in any way with respect thereto.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a toy railroad track having a grounded rail and apower rail; a toy car on the track the car having a body adapted tocarry discrete material, such as toy coal, an electrically operable sidedumping mechanism for forwardly delivering the contents of the car bodyto one side of the track, and current collectors for supplying currentto, the dumping mechanism; and a trackside structure having fixedinsulated and grounded contactors engageable with the current collectorson the car, a coal hopper at a higher elevation than the car, a chutepivoted to the rear of the hopper, the chute, when raised, closing thebottom of the hopper and when lowered delivering the contents of thehopper to the car, means for raising the chute to the raised position,electromagnetic means for effecting a lowering of the chute, a receivingbin to the front of the car movable between a lower position alongsidethe track where it may receive the contents of the car when it is dumpedto a higher position where it delivers its burden to the hopper, areversible motor and reduction gear unit, a slow speed shaft driven bythe reduction gear unit, cord winding spools having slip driveconnections with the shaft, cords wound about the spools and connectedto the receiving bin to raise and lower it; a two position switch andwiring for connecting either the side dumping mechanism in the car orthe chute lowering electromagnetic means whereby the car may be unloadedor loaded; and a second two position switch for controlling thedirection of rotation of the motor to raise or to lower the receivingbin.

2. The combination of claim 1, having stops to arrest movement of thebin as it is brought to its raised position, the slip drive connectionsfor the spools permitting slippage thereof.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein the trackside structure has foursupporting columns, two on each side of the track, the two front columnsand the bin having interengaging parts which guide the bin up and downand tilt it in its upper position to dump the contents thereof.

4. The combination of claim 1, wherein the trackside structure has foursupporting columns, two on each side of the track, a wall plate having aback portion extending between the two rear columns and end portionsextending between the end columns, means carried by the back portion ofthe wall plate for supporting the mot0rreduction gear unit and shaft andfor supporting the rear of the hopper, and a strap interconnecting theend portions and supporting the front edge of the hopper.

5. A toy railroad track accessory having a base adapted to support toyrailroad trackage, front and rear columns spaced to accommodate thetrackage and a toy train thereon, a column supported hopper havingbottom openings disposed toward the rear of the hopper, acolumn-supported forwardly opening chute spring biased to close thehopper openings and movable downwardly to permit flow of material fromthe hopper and forward discharge thereof into a car on the track, acolumn-supported, reversible motor-reduction gear unit above the hopper,a slow speed shaft drivingly connected to the reduction gear unit, cordwinding spools carried by the shaft and having friction driveconnections therewith, a bin guided for vertical movement by the frontcolumns from a position near the trackage to a position above and infront of the hopper and cord connected to the pulleys to be raised orlowered in accordance with the direction of motor operation, and meansfor tipping the bin during the upper portion of its movement to cause itto pour its contents into the hopper.

6. A unitary toy railroad trackside accessory having a base, columnsextending upwardly from the base, a column-supported hopper havingdischarge openings, a chute movable from an upper position where itcloses the hopper openings to a lower position to divert the contents ofthe hopper in a forward direction, a bin guided for vertical movement bythe front columns, supplemental guides for effecting tilting movement ofthe bin at the upper part of its travel for dumping its contents intothe hopper, cords connected to the bin to raise and lower said bin,spools on said accessory about which the cords are wound, a remotecontrolled electric motor carried by said columns and spool drivingmeans coupled to said motor and to said spools, said driving meansfurther including a friction clutch for permitting overrun of said motorand limit the pull on the cords.

7. A toy railroad accessory having a base, front and rear columnsextending upwardly from the base, a houselike structure carried at thetop of the columns and including a back wall, two end walls and a roofmember extending from the back wall part way to the front to form a cutback roof portion, a hopper extending between the end walls and disposedbelow the roof, a motorreduction gear unit secured to the back wall andcarried between the hopper and the roof, a bin guided by the frontcolumns for vertical movement, a slow speed, reduction gear driven shaftbeneath said roof, shaft carried spools, cords connecting the spools andbin, guide pulleys carried by said structure about which the cords pass,and means to guide the bin during the upper part of its movement to aposition inwardly near the front edge of the roof member and cause it totilt to dump its contents into the hopper.

in a toy loader for coal cars, an overhead coal hopper having two spacedopen bottom pockets, a bracket member secured to the hopper and having aportion extending below and to the rear of the pockets, a chute assemblypivotally mounted on the lower portion of the bracket, a solenoid coilcarried by the bracket between the pockets, a magnetizable plunger inthe coil and connected to the chute to shift the chute assembly from anup position Where it closes the pockets to a lower position where itopens them to discharge the contents, and a spring biasing said plungerto counterbalance the chute assembly and hold it in the upper positionwhen the coil is deenergized.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,873,764 Hormel Aug. 23, 1932 2,017,616 Cuff Oct. 15, 1935 2,438,603Ehrhardt Mar. 30, 1948 2,693,891 English Nov. 9, 1954 2,725,668 BonannoDec. 6, 1955 2,732,958 Bonanno Jan. 31, 1956

